Potsdam, Massena Play In Finals

POTSDAM - They reached the 20-win plateau in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions on Wednesday night at Maxcy Hall, but the Potsdam Central boys basketball team will need to do a better job in the Overall Section 10 Championship versus Massena on Friday night, according to Sandstoner coach Steve Kmack whose team was coming off an emotional Class B sectional championship game victory over Ogdensburg this past Saturday.

Massena 57, Chateaugay 50: In the first semi-final of the night at Jerry Welsh Gymnasium, Class A champion Massena jumped out to a promising 21-10 lead by the end of the first quarter but had to continually withstand one comeback after another by the Class D champion Bulldogs before earning a chance to defend their overall title.

"Give Chateaugay a lot of credit. They are a very, very well-coached team and they just kept coming after us," said Raider coach Tom Miller. "Our record is 16-4 and we've had a good year but this game was another example of how terribly inconsistent we are from one quarter to another at both ends of the floor."

"We'll work on things again in practice but if we don't correct our problems tomorrow, we're going to be in big trouble on Friday against Potsdam, assuming Potsdam beats Brushton," he added. "We talked all year about defending our title. We've put ourselves in position to do it and I guarantee you, we're not going down without a battle no matter who we end up playing."

After falling behind by 11 points by the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs began to find their stride in the second, outscoring the Raiders 11-4 over the first 3:10. Ian Henderson capped the early Chateaugay outburst with the first of his three three-pointers that cut the deficit to 25-21. Sparked by five straight points by Trevor Bacon, the Raiders answered with a 10-5 run the rest of the quarter to go into halftime leading 35-26.

A low-scoring third quarter saw the Raiders push their lead to 10 points at 41-31 with 2:51 remaining after a close range conversion by Taylor Elsner and Massena went on to take a 44-37 lead into the fourth, which opened with Henderson drilling a quick three-pointer to pull the Bulldogs back to within four points. A three-pointers six minutes later by Eli Franze, left Massena leading just 51-49 and after a Massena turnover, Alex Stalter went to the foul line with a chance to tie the game. He missed the first but connected on the second to make it a one-point game with 2:09 remaining. Elsner then converted on the next Massena possession but it wasn't until JP Dumas and Trevor Bacon successful drove the lane in the final 26 seconds before the Raiders were final able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's always good to have a game like this against a quality team like Massena," said coach Ron Boyea. "We didn't execute well and we were giving up easy buckets in the first quarter. The kids showed a lot of heart coming back the way they did after being down 21-10."

Elsner finished with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Raiders. Bacon tallied 13 points and seven boards while Dumas generated 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Matt Jenack drilled two of the four three-pointers recorded by the Raiders in a 10-point effort that also included a game-high four steals. Brady Condlin netted seven points before leaving the game midway through the second quarter with a sprained left ankle.

Alex Stalter and Henderson anchored the Chateaugay scoring with 11 points apiece.

The Bulldogs (19-3) will now set their sights on a fifth straight trip to the New York State Class D tournament starting on Wednesday, March 10, with a first-round game in Plattsburgh.

JUKOSKI AWARD

OFA's Gene Bouyer was presented the Joe Jukoski Memorial Award last night as the Outstanding Boys Basketball Player in Section 10.

Bouyer is OFA's all-time leading scorer with 1,416 points, second in career blocked shots with 290 and third in career rebounding with 775.

Other finalists for the 2010 Award were: Cody Kilcoyne of St. Lawrence Central, John Coleman of Potsdam and J.P. Dumas of Massena.

Cody Kilcoyne is a two-year senior captain who led the Larries in scoring and led Section 10 in assists this year. "Cody is the epitome of what every coach wants in a player," said his coach Joey Reome. Kilcoyne, also a standout lacrosse player, plans on attending either Clarkson, SUNY Potsdam or SUNY Plattsburgh next year.

John Coleman is a junior captain for the Sandstoners currently averaging 14.4 points, six rebounds and six assists per game. "John is a tenacious defender. He never backs down from any challenge. John is every coach's dream," said his coach Steve Kmack. Coleman currently ranks second in his class with a 98.5 Grade Point Average.

Jon Paul Dumas is a senior co-captain and two-year varsity starter for the Raiders, currently averaging 10 points, six rebounds and five assists per game. "J.P. is a team leader and valued friend and role model to his teammates," said his coach Tom Miller. Dumas currently ranks seventh in his class with a 95 academic average. He plans on majoring in engineering in college.